Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar or its characters.

A/N: I wrote this for a good friend of mine on ASN, Kyoshi Fan, who was adamant that there should be more Sokka/Suki/Hakoda interaction stories out there.

Permission

Thunk! Thunk!

"Come in!" Hakoda called warmly, leaning back in his chair from the reconnaissance report he was writing.

The door of his small berth on the ship inched hesitantly open, and a familiar head poked around it.

"Sokka! Come in, sit down. Everything all right up on deck?" Hakoda was gratified, as he always was when Sokka came to visit with him, but also surprised. Sokka had a penchant for simply bursting into the room without knocking, and he was almost never shy about entering.

"Everything's fine, Dad. Still looks good." Sokka reported cheerfully. They were, Hakoda estimated, probably somewhere off the southern coast of the Earth Kingdom. He and his men had been running regular scouting missions all along the coasts ever since the war had ended, making sure people were recovering and that no trouble was being caused. Sokka had elected to come eagerly, wanting to officially be a part of his father's fleet for the first time.

But something wasn't quite right with his son now. Sokka's good humor seemed forced, and he was tapping his fingers nervously against the wood of Hakoda's desk.

"Something bothering you son?" Hakoda looked up at Sokka with concern. He and his son were similar enough that he knew when something was wrong.

"Oh no, nothing is…" Sokka's overly cheery attempt fell flat when he saw the pointed look his father shot him. His shifted from foot to foot, biting his lower lip. Hakoda felt even more unnerved. He had never seen his son so worked up over anything.

"Sokka," he said gently. "You can tell me anything. What's wrong?"

Sokka swallowed, and then closed his eyes. In a sudden, explosive rush of words, he blurted, "Dad, would you be okay with it if I asked Suki to marry me?"

Hakoda sat back in his chair with surprise. Of all the news he was expecting his son to spill, that wasn't one of them. Abruptly, memories washed over him, even though he was aware of Sokka's eyes resting on him, breathless for a verdict.

Hakoda watched his and Sokka's fingers working the tie of the Sink n' Stink bomb together, and felt a surge of joy. Here he was, working with his near-grown son, together at last after years of separation. He was delighted find Sokka had lost none of his good humor and kind spirit, that he was still the strong hearted child Hakoda had so reluctantly left behind. Now they had a chance to talk, to tell each other of all their adventures. Hakoda had been stunned and overjoyed to hear of Katara's progress as a waterbender, and that they were still traveling happily with the Avatar, and had picked up a new, loyal companion as well, an earthbender named Toph.

Finally, as they finished the final knot, Hakoda looked over with a wicked gleam in his eye. "So, Sokka. Have you found yourself a girlfriend yet?" It was a simple, teasing question; a typical father-son jab.

He wasn't prepared for the look that crossed Sokka's face. A sudden warm wistfulness that seemed to light his eyes from within. Hakoda caught his breath in surprise.

"Yeah." Sokka seemed not quite to be talking to him anymore. "In fact, she's waiting for me, in Ba Sing Se."

But there could be no more discussion, for at that moment Bato came over to examine their progress, and ask for their help with another task. But all the rest of that day, Hakoda felt slightly shaken whenever he remembered his son's face when he had spoken those words.

"…and she's still back at Kyoshi Island now, and I haven't asked her yet, but I wanted to…" Sokka was speaking now, his words babbled, but Hakoda was still thinking back, pulled irresistibly in the flow of memories.

It was almost worth the locked prison door to have Sokka sitting beside him. The joyous high of reunion was upon them both again, but this time there were serious things to discuss. Escape. Hakoda should have known his son would already be planning escape.

But not alone. With them would be the prince of the Fire Nation, a fact that Hakoda still could not completely wrap his mind around. But he trusted Sokka.

And then there was the girl…Suki. The leader of the…

Kyoshi Warriors, he reminded himself firmly. Sokka had corrected him on that.

But she was not just an important leader. Because Hakoda had not missed the look on Sokka's face or the excitement in his voice when he said her name. Sokka would not jeopardize this escape for just anyone.

Hakoda couldn't help feeling smugly proud of himself. He had solved one mystery at least. Now he could turn his ingenuity to planning.

"…and I've thought really hard about this Dad, trust me, and I haven't slept in…"

So this was her.

Unlike every other person he'd met in his short time here, the rough prison garb detracted nothing from her. She was fairly tall, her stance straight and alert. Her short hair was a soft shade of red-brown, she had a small nose and firm facial features. Her body was light, but proportioned, ready to move on a seconds notice. Her brown eyes were a delicate mixture of gentle strength and fiery spirit. She had stood beside Sokka, close enough to give support simply by her presence, but far enough to let it be known that she would not allow feelings to get in the way of this escape.

Hakoda had met no one like her in a long time.

And when the deeper voice of that prisoner Chit Sang interrupted their desperate planning with the words, "I think your girlfriend is taking care of it," he turned along with everyone else.

It was something Hakoda would never forget. He had been a warrior since he was twelve, and in all his years he had never seen anything like it.

She moved so fast she had no time to be unbalanced. She leaped like she was jumping stones in a pond, or ice floes in the North. She jumped for the wall like she was born to move like this, her hands and feet gripping the wall in a defiance of all gravity. He had hardly seen even an eel-hound move with such grace. The soldiers that tried to stop her were nothing in her path, minor annoyances that could be tossed without breaking stride. She swung over the iron bar and charged the length of the terrace. A second later, the Warden was in her possession. She had not even broken a sweat; the whole maneuver was like one smooth movement.

They stumbled onto the balcony a moment later, panting, to see her pinning the man against the wall, a slight smile on her face, as though this was a daily occurrence.

Hakoda couldn't help glancing sideways at his son as he spoke the words that summed up the awe and respect he felt at that moment.

"That is some girl."

And Sokka's voice and face as he answered told Hakoda everything he needed to know. The dazed glow that suffused Sokka's face was unmistakable to someone who had seen it many times before, who had felt it himself. The dizzy tone of voice that said clearly that Sokka cherished the very ground she stood on.

"Tell me about it."

Hakoda smiled, looking at the fierce, warrior flame that burned in Suki's eyes, the proud lift of her head and the determined smile as she held the Warden in place. And all this in nothing more than rust-red prison rags.

Let it never be said that his son didn't know how to pick a girl.

"Dad? I know I'm only seventeen, but people get married younger than that, right? I mean, remember…"

Separated again. He and his children seemed doomed to this fate. He held Katara tightly, listening as she promised once again that they would meet up later. Then Sokka, marveling at the strength in his son's broad arms. He listened hard to the whispered goodbye, so that he could remember it and hold in close in the nights and days to come.

Then Sokka released him and reached for her hand. The look in his eyes as he grabbed her and pulled her along made a lump rise in Hakoda's throat. He knew that expression.

He used to look at Kya that way.

She was in good hands. Just one look, and Hakoda knew absolutely that Sokka would do everything in his power to keep her safe.

"…Dad, just say it. If you're going to disagree, than tell me…but I have to tell you that I might do it anyway. I mean…"

Sokka hated the crutch, Hakoda could tell. He hated being unable to move freely, to walk without assistance. Hakoda sympathized; he would feel the same way.

But he didn't mind so much when she helped; Hakoda could tell that too. Then he seemed to slow his pace on purpose, to lean a little more heavily than necessary on her guiding shoulder. She was there as often as she could be, laughingly steering him around rocks, catching him as he stumbled over roots. Hakoda always resisted the urge to grin. Even with a broken leg, Sokka wasn't that clumsy.

But he had to admit, they made a strange kind of sense, walking together; the green-clad Kyoshi Warrior in full makeup and uniform, and the Water Tribe warrior dressed in blue. They walked close, their heads hanging low together, their arms and sides always brushing.

Hakoda got the feeling that even without the crutch, they would still walk like that.

"Dad, please, just—"

Hakoda reached out and placed a tanned, weathered hand over Sokka's rapidly drumming fingers on the tabletop. He looked up at his son, ignoring the slight pricks of tears in the corners of his eyes.

"Sokka….yes. Ask her. You don't just have my permission…you have my encouragement." And in the way they always used to, he gave Sokka a broad wink.

The next thing he knew, he was having the wind crushed out of him as Sokka all but knocked him over with a hug. A warm rush of joy flooded through the Water Tribe chief as his son's contagious happiness reached him. He chuckled breathlessly, slapping Sokka's affectionately on the back.

"Thanks Dad," Sokka said, in a voice rough with emotion.

"Really, Sokka. With a girl like that, what were you expecting me to say?"